Misjudgment
by NoFearOnlyLove21
Summary: Sequel to What a Crazy Night. Mary and Val are kidnapped. To what lengths will Elliot and Olivia go to find them? EO obviously. Complete. Finally.
1. Kidnapped

**Yes, this is the sequel that a lot of you have been waiting for. Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last story. I really appreciated them all.**

**I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: My birthday was yesterday, and when I blew out the candles on my cake, I wished for the characters, but my wish didn't come true. Only Valerie and Mary are mine. **

**------------ **

"Olivia, I'm heading out now. I'll see you at work," Elliot said, walking out of Olivia's bathroom. He smiled at Olivia, who was sitting on the couch giving Mary her bottle. He was happy that he could finally be a part of his daughter's life.

"All right. I'll be leaving shortly," Olivia replied. "I just have to finish with Mary and then take her to Val's."

"Okay, see ya." Elliot walked over to Olivia, giving her a kiss on the cheek, followed by Mary. He left.

"Wow, you were hungry," Olivia said to Mary, seeing that her bottle was empty. She stood and lifted Mary over her shoulder, gently patting her back. "Are you all ready to go to Val's?"

Mary responded by letting out a soft burp, causing Olivia to laugh. "I suppose that's a yes. Let's just get your things together."

---------

"Hey, Liv. Hello, Mary," Valerie said. "How's my little girl?"

"She's fine," Olivia said, handing Mary to Valerie. "She was excited to come over here, today."

"That's because we have a lot of fun. Don't we, Mary? Yes we do."

Olivia chuckled, realizing how much affect a baby could have on an adult's personality. "Well, I have to go now." Olivia set Mary's bag in the doorway. "I'll see you later. Thanks, Val. Bye-bye, sweetie. Mommy will be back soon." Olivia kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Say bye-bye, Mommy," Valerie said, waving Mary's arm.

"Bye!" Olivia walked down the stairs to her car.

----------

"Morning everyone," Olivia said as she walked into the precinct.

"Morning, Liv," her coworkers replied.

"How's Mary?" Fin asked.

"She's fine. She's adjusting really well to this whole separation deal." Olivia lowered her eyes. "Her mother, on the other hand, has a harder time with it."

"Aww does Olivia need a hug?" John jumped in.

"Shut up. You try being a mother."

"No thanks."

"She's right, you know," Elliot said. "When Maureen was a baby and I had to watch her while Kathy was gone, she'd call every five minutes just to make sure she was okay."

"Every five minutes? No wonder you're divorced."

"John, I thought I told you to shut up," Olivia said.

"Besides, look who's talking," Fin added.

"Guys, we have a case," Cragen interrupted, walking out of his office. "Female, 25, beaten and raped in an alley beside Rosepack Library."

"Alive?" Elliot asked.

"Yes, but in bad shape."

"We're on it," Olivia said, jumping up.

"Olivia, I am overloaded with paperwork. I can't go," Fin protested.

"I'll go," Elliot volunteered. "I don't exactly want to be stuck with John at the moment..."

"Okay, but if I hear of any funny business..." Cragen said.

"You won't," Elliot assured him. "Come on, Liv. I'll drive."

"You know, Liv. Last time we were on a case together like this, you were pregnant," Elliot pointed out.

"I know," Olivia replied. "I felt like crap, and the first pregnancy test was negative, and we thought I had the stomach flu. What a mess."

"What? The first test?"

Olivia felt herself blush. "Yea. I forgot about that. I had called Casey one day when you left to take care of some business at work. And halfway through our conversation, I realized that I had some symptoms- you know, cravings, the sickness."

"Oh. So that's why she left like that."

Olivia nodded. "Mmhmm. I was relieved when it was negative. Because you'd never have to know about... you know."

"I know. We don't have to talk about it."

"No." Olivia's face remained red. "Look, we're almost there."

Elliot parked the car and the two of them got out, running toward the scene.

"Special victims?" A police officer asked.

"Yes," Elliot answered. "Where is she?"

"Over there." The officer led them to an ambulance.

"Hi, my name's Olivia," Olivia said to a woman lying in a stretcher. The woman's face was beaten- her eyes were black and there was a large cut on her cheek. There was a blood stain just beneath her nose. "Can you tell me what happened?" She placed her hand on the woman's arm assuringly.

The woman jerked away.

"Sweetheart, I'm here to help."

"We have to take her to the hospital," a doctor said.

"I'll ride with her."

"No, you won't," a woman jumped in. "I'm her mother. _I'll_ ride with her."

"You're her mother? Then we need to ask you-"

"No. I'm not leaving my daughter."

"Then I'll go to the hospital with y-"

"I said no. I want you all to stay away from my daughter." The woman climbed into the ambulance as the doors shut.

"Damn it." Olivia walked over to Elliot. "She wouldn't talk to me, and the mother was just as stubborn."

"Why didn't you go with her?"

"The mother wouldn't let me. Then the doors slammed in my face."

"This is insane."

Olivia's phone rang. "Benson," she answered. Elliot watched Olivia. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God."

"What?" Elliot asked.

Olivia shook her head. "No. No. No!" A hand rested on her forehead. "How?"

"Olivia, what is it?"

"Oh my God." Olivia turned away from Elliot as tears sprang to her eyes. "Damn it." She hung up and turned to Elliot, her cheeks tear-stained.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, his voice filled with concern.

"We have to go." She began walking toward the car.

"Why? We're not finished."

"Elliot, that was Val. She was crying. And she's not... home..."

"What's wrong? Where is she? Where's Mary?"

"Val... she... Mary..." Olivia choked on her words, tears falling rapidly.

"Olivia!"

"Elliot, Val and Mary... they were kidnapped."


	2. Investigation

**I want to apoligize in advanced... this chapter is NOT my best work at all. I just wanted to get an update here for you guys. I'm hoping to get a better chapter up here soon. So... sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**-------------------**

"_What?_" Elliot yelled. "Where the hell are they? Who kidnapped them? Holy-"

"Elliot, I know as much as you," Olivia said, cutting him off. "She didn't say where they were or who took them."

"Let's go."

---------

"God, what a mess," Olivia observed as they walked into her apartment building.

"I'll say," Elliot replied.

They climbed the stairs to Valerie's apartment. "Whoever it was, they left the door open. That's pretty dumb."

"Yea." Elliot pushed the door open further.

"Mary's bag is gone. Oh my God, and so is Val's gun."

"How do you know her gun is gone?"

Olivia smiled lightly. "She said you should always be prepared. Then she showed me where she kept a gun, 'just in case.'" Olivia pointed the table by which she was standing. "The drawer's open, and the gun isn't there."

"Well don't touch anything. We might be able to get some fingerprints."

"I hope so." Olivia's tears returned to her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening."

Elliot walked over to Olivia, his arms open. "Come here, sweetheart." He wrapped his arms around her. "This is every parent's worst nightmare. But I'm sure that they're both safe."

Olivia's tears ran freely down her face, soaking Elliot's shirt. "I'm such a horrible parent."

"Olivia." Elliot pushed her away from him, grabbing her sternly by the shoulders. "Olivia, look at me." Olivia obeyed, her shining eyes looking up into Elliot's. "You are _not_ a horrible parent. You're one of the best parents. Seriously. I was such a jerk to you, and you raised our child all on your own. This was not your fault. Do you understand me?"

Olivia nodded. "I'm just so..."

"I know, I know. But right now we need to do all we can to find them. First we'll call the missing persons hotline. Then we'll get into anything we can get our hands on- phone records, computer e-mails- anything that may give any hint as to where they could be."

"All right. Let's go to my apartment." Olivia walked out of Valerie's apartment, leading the way to her own.

---------

"Where are Benson and Stabler?" Fin asked.

"God only knows. They're probably... off somewhere," John replied.

"I knew putting them together would be a bad idea. I think I'll call Benson." He reached for his phone and pressed Olivia's speed dial number.

"Benson," Olivia answered.

"Hey, it's Fin. What the hell's taking you all so long? What are you up to?"

"I'm sorry. I was about to call. Fin, Mary was kidnapped. So was Val."

"_What? _You're kidding me!"

"I wish I was. I really do."

"God. So where are you now?"

"My place. Elliot's making some phone calls and then we're going to begin investigating."

"Damn. I am so sorry, Olivia."

"I know. God, this place is such a mess. We got here and the entire apartment building was trashed, and Val's door was open. Her apartment was completely torn apart as well."

"Jeez. You know what? John and I are on our way."

"No. Stay there. Cragen needs you."

"It's a slow day."

"Yes, but every time we decide it's a slow day, something happens really abruptly."

"That's true..."

"So stay there. We'll take care of our daughter."

"All right, Liv. But call if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk."

"Will do. Bye."

"See ya." Fin heard the click of the other phone line. He hung up his line. "Val was kidnapped. Mary was with her."

John sat there, letting the information soak in before he responded. "Are you serious?"

"I am. God... I feel like we should be doing something, but she told me that we need to stay here."

"Well, why don't we look up some recent kidnappings while we have some spare time? Maybe we can link some together."

"All right. The only information I got was that the entire apartment building was a mess."

"Okay..." John began typing on the computer. "Let's see... I have six recent kidnappings in apartments in this area. One of them was turned in, so he's out. The other five involved an infant. Three of those also involved a woman."

"What were the crime scenes like?"

"Well, one of them was a break-in from the window to the bedroom. And no mess was left. And these other two... it says the entire apartments were trashed."

"Names?"

"One of them Lenny Bryant. The other was Chris Meron."

"Okay, we'll try and track these guys down. We need to do everything we can to get Val and Mary back safely. I'll call Olivia and let her know." Fin reached for his phone once again.

"Olivia, it's me again," Fin said when Olivia answered. "We did some quick tracking, and we found two potential suspects for this kidnapping. Be on the lookout for a Lenny Bryant and a Chris Meron."


	3. Discovery

**I'm having such a hard time with this story. I'm trying to build up to what I've had planned all along, but it's much harder then I though. I'm hoping that something comes to me. But here's chapter three. Reviews appreciated.**

**Oh yes. I won't be able to update as much while I wrap up the school year. Studying for finals and after school things. So please bear with me.  
**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**----------------**

"Okay, I finally got a chance to call missing persons. They're running an ad on TV and in the paper. And I got the chance to make some fliers," Olivia said, rushing into the precinct. "Elliot and I are going to run around town and put some of these up, okay? Call if anything happens."

Olivia was gone before anyone had the chance to say anything.

"She hasn't slept well in days. She's been living off coffee and sodas. I feel so bad for her," Elliot explained, standing from his chair.

"What about you?" Fin wondered.

"I haven't been sleeping well either, but I've managed." He nodded toward Fin's computer. "Look up our suspects, okay? If you find anything else, give one of us a call." Elliot ran to meet Olivia.

---------

"We just received a call about them yesterday," someone announced.

"Excuse me?" Olivia turned around to find a police officer peering out the door to the office.

"Yea. Mary Benson and Valerie Cramer?"

Olivia nodded. "That was me I guess."

"I'm so sorry about what's going on. I'm a parent, and I can only imagine how it feels for your child to be missing."

Tears sprang to Olivia's eyes. Elliot wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Have you found out anything?" he asked, pulling out his badge.

"Come inside," the officer said, opening the door wider. "I'm Norman, by the way."

"Elliot. And this is Olivia." The men shook hands. "Yesterday our coworkers did some research on recent kidnappings, and two guys had the same M.O."

"Do you remember their names?"

Elliot pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "Lenny Bryant and a Chris Meron."

"Hmm... Chris Meron sounds familiar..." Norman began typing on his computer. "Yes. Kidnapping of a 35-year-old woman and a baby, just last week. And a couple of weeks before the same situation. The second woman was in her late twenties. We've been working on tracking him down, but no luck."

"That sicko's probably taking these people and storing them in a room or something," Olivia said, clenching her teeth.

"What about Lenny Bryant?" Elliot asked.

Norman once again typed on his computer. "Well, let's see. He only kidnapped a woman and a baby once, a few months ago. Nothing since. But who knows, this could be a once-every-few-months deal for him."

"Possibly," Elliot replied. "How old was this woman?"

"She was 47."

"Valerie's 46. What about the baby?" Olivia jumped in.

"The baby was about four months."

"Oh my God, El. That's him!" Olivia exclaimed. "It has to be. Mary's just about that age."

"What other information do you have on him? Criminal records of any sort?" Elliot asked.

"One for breaking and entering about three years ago. There's one for murder that took place about two years ago. He was let out in about six months for good behavior."

The tears returned to Olivia's eyes. "What if he goes back to being that murderer?"

"Olivia, don't think like that." Elliot replied. "If he was let out on good behavior, then it probably means something."

"What else...? Oh, attempted robbery last week in the jewelry store on Bradey Street," Norman added. "You could go question the people who work there. Maybe someone around there knows where he went."

"All right," Elliot said, reaching into his pocket for his card. "Thanks so much for your help. Call if you find anything."

"Will do," Norman replied. "Good luck."

Elliot grabbed Olivia's hand and they walked toward the door. "Come on, let's get to Bradey Street."

Olivia's cell phone rang. "Benson."

Elliot watched Olivia's expression change from upset to hopeful as she continued her phone conversation.

"Thanks so much," Olivia hung up. "That was John. Come on, we need to get back to the precinct. They actually found Lenny."

"All right. Let's go and get that bastard to give us our daughter."


	4. Found?

**I got COMPLETELY lost with this story. Like I said (I think) in earlier chapters, I know what I want to happen, I'm just having a hard time getting to it. And, of course, while I'm stuck, I came up with a totally new story idea. So now I need to get through this story before I begin posting the next one. It's not a sequel to this, and it has nothing to do with this storyline at all.**

**So yea. Just a heads up. I don't know how much longer this story will be.**

**Also... I got a job. So I won't be able to update as much. Gah. I had no idea a job would be so stressful and time-consuming, even if it is part time!**

**Happy Fourth of July!**

**Disclaimer: I asked for them as a congratulations present for my getting a job, but no luck. I tried, though. Lenny Bryant is mine, though.**

**-------------------**

"Lenny Bryant?" Olivia walked into the interrogation room where a large, rough-looking man was sitting, his head in his hands.

"Who are you?" Lenny asked quietly, not looking up.

"I'm Detective Benson, Lenny."

"What do you want from me?"

"I think you know." Olivia sat across from Lenny. "A baby. And a woman."

Lenny looked up. His eyes were crystal blue, Olivia noticed. They reminded her of Mary. "That was ages ago!"

"More like a few days ago."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Lenny, my daughter and neighbor- my close friend- went missing. Rumor has it that you have a history of kidnapping women and infants."

"Wha- that was twice, okay? The first time I served time for it. The second time I fled the state and hot help. I realized what a horrible person I was; that I just wasn't right. I changed. I_ changed_, damn it!" Lenny pounded his hand on the table.

Olivia shrugged. "Okay, Lenny." She stood up and walked toward the door. "Oh, by the way. You mind if we get a search warrant for your home? You know, just to check and make sure you're telling the truth."

Lenny put his head back in his hand. "Do whatever you want. I don't care. My wife left me, my children hate me. I lost my job. Who'd of thought that changing yourself for the better would affect your entire life in such a negative, hurtful way?"

Olivia looked at Lenny for a moment. She saw a tear fall onto his denim-covered knee. She opened the door and left the room. "I'd feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a creep," she said to Elliot, who had been watching through the window.

"Once a criminal always a criminal," Elliot replied. "I think he's just putting on a front."

"What makes you say that?" Olivia glanced inside the room, seeing Lenny leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His tears were gone, and he had a smug look on his face. "Oh."

"Let's go get that warrant."

"Hang on." Olivia opened the door. "You're free to go, Lenny. But if we find anything in your home, and we've discovered that you're no long in New York, you will be a sorry man."

---------

"There's nothing in here, El." Olivia angrily threw her arms into the air and let them fall to her sides. She and Elliot had been searching Lenny's house for nearly three hours.

"Olivia," Elliot called. Olivia walked into the living room, finding Elliot kneeling on the floor. Something was in his hands.

"What is that?"

Elliot held it up for Olivia to see. "A rattle. Bryant keeps baby toys here."

Olivia sighed. "That's not enough. That could just be from one of his children."

"I don't know. His information stated that he had three boys. Why would a boy have a pink and yellow rattle?"

"Maybe he's going through a 'phase.'"

Elliot chuckled. "Dickie hasn't gone through that one."

"Some boys are just lucky like that." Olivia shrugged, walking into the kitchen.

Elliot placed the rattle into a bag.

"Elliot!" Olivia yelled.

"What?"

"Elliot, come here!"

Elliot ran into the kitchen. Olivia was holding a picture frame. "Look."

Elliot looked and inhaled sharply. "What the-?"

The picture frames contained a picture of Mary, wearing a yellow lacy dress, smiling widely.

"I had this picture taken just a few weeks ago," Olivia said. "How the hell could he have gotten it? They haven't even sent it to me yet!"

"Where did you get it taken?" Elliot asked.

"That department store down in Ceyesville."

"He wasn't the photographer there, was he?"

"No. I didn't see him around."

Elliot sighed. "Call Bryant's cell phone and get him back down to the station."

The two walked out of the house and to Elliot's car. Olivia reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She dialed Lenny's number and waited. Elliot watched her as the phone continued ringing.

"That bastard! He's not picking up his damn phone!" Olivia exclaimed.

Elliot started the car. "Keep trying. I'll get us to the station."

Olivia redialed Lenny's number. "Still no answer," she said after awhile.

"One more time, and if he doesn't answer we'll pull his files and get in touch with relatives."

Olivia tried one last time. Elliot glanced over and saw her eyes shining as she listened for Lenny. He reached down and took her hand in his.

"God damn it!" Olivia yelled, throwing her phone onto the floor of the car. Her tears flowed freely.

Elliot squeezed her hand. "It's okay, it's okay. We'll get her. Both of them." He smiled sadly as he pulled into the building's parking lot. "Come on. Let's go in and get some information."

Olivia wiped her eyes and got out of the car. "I just- this is so unfair."

"I know, I know," Elliot said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "But life is never fair." Elliot opened the door for Olivia. They made their way to the elevator.

"Benson, Stabler. I need to talk to you," Donald said when they reached their floor. "Come into my office."

Olivia and Elliot obeyed. Elliot stood and leaned against the file cabinet by the door, Olivia sat in front of the desk. "Captain, did you find out anything?" Olivia asked.

"Close the door," Donald replied. Elliot closed the door.

"Bryant's apartment had a baby's rattle. _And_ a picture of Mary," Elliot stated. "So either he's our guy or he's a stalker."

"But I can't get ahold of him," Olivia added, looking at her hands.

"You know why?" Donald asked.

Olivia's eyes darted from her hands to Elliot's eyes. "Why?" she asked.

Donald cleared his throat. "You let him go. And the second he left, he ran to his car and got shot."

"What? But he survived, right? I mean-"

"He's dead, Liv. Lenny Bryant committed suicide."


	5. Misjudgment

**Finally. Finally, finally. I was waiting to be able to get to this part of the story. Ugh. Maybe now it'll do better review-wise. This story is not at all my best work. I apologize.**

**Okay, off to bed for me. I am soooo sore from work today. Crazy stuff. Unloading freights (aka HEAAAAVY loads) and what not. Oh well. It means money, right?**

** Disclaimer: Not mine. Except Mary and Valerie.  
**

"What?" Olivia clapped her hand over her mouth.

"The police found a note in his car." Donald said. "Apparently he had been thinking about killing himself, but today just drove him over the edge."

Olivia stood up. "Damn it! It's all my fault!" She stormed out of Donald's office.

"Cap, what else did the note say?" Elliot asked.

"You're wondering about the picture, right?" Donald asked.

Elliot nodded. "Yea."

"The police said that his note contained a few items that weren't in his will to go to people. He said that there was a picture that had been delivered to him a few days ago and that he wasn't sure who the rightful owner was."

"So he's not our guy?" Elliot asked unnecessarily.

"No. Just a wrong address. And a coincidence that it went to the home of a kidnapper."

Elliot sighed and walked to the door. "I better go find Olivia," he said before he left.

Olivia was sitting at her desk, head cradled in her arms. She was breathing heavily.

"Olivia," Elliot said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Liv, don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" Olivia snapped, her head jolting up. "I've cried so much over this, damn it! I just want this to be over with! I want my daughter back! I want my neighbor to be safe! Why the hell are there such heartless people in the world?" Olivia jumped out of her chair. "You know what? I'm out of here." She stormed out of the office.

"Wait, Liv!"

"Let her go, man," Fin said, stepping up to Elliot.

"Fin," Elliot said. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was sitting at my desk."

"Oh... Fin, I need to go after her. What if she snaps? What if she does something crazy? What if-"

"El, listen. Olivia's strong. She's been through so much. She has a daughter, El. I remember once we were at a stakeout together. We got into a deep conversation. She told me that if she ever had a child, she'd do all she could to not end up like her mother."

Elliot sighed. "Casey said that when she was at the hospital, Olivia had been talking before she stepped in. She said that she had ended up just like her mother."

"That was before. Before you knew Mary was yours and before you guys put that crazy time behind you. This is now. You guys are together, and she loves Mary. She loves you, too."

Elliot was quiet for a moment. "You're right. You're right. But you know what? I'm going to Val's apartment to see is there's anything we missed."

"I'll go with you."

"All right."

---------

"Fin, come here," Elliot said.

"What?" Fin ran over to where Elliot had been standing.

"I just found something weird in Val's computer room." Elliot opened the door wider for Fin to step closer inside.

"What's that?"

"Look." Elliot led fin to the desk where a photo album lay. "Open it."

Fin opened the photo album. "What the hell...?"

Pictures of Mary and Valerie were scattered throughout the photo album.

"I know the woman loves Mary to death. But that's a little creep- Holy shit," Elliot said.

"What?" Fin looked to see Elliot bending over, looking through the computer desk drawer.

"Papers... books... files... read these titles, Fin. 'Raising Children,' 'Getting Past the Police.' What the hell is this?"

"Keep it. Let's go back down to the precinct and look through these papers. Maybe they have a location."

Elliot and Fin grabbed everything from the computer room and ran to the car. Elliot pulled out his phone and dialed Olivia's number.

"Benson," Olivia answered.

"Liv, it's me," Elliot replied.

"Elliot, I don't want to talk to anyone right-"

"Olivia, get back to the office. Fin and I found stuff that's going to get us one step closer to Mary."

"What? What about Val?"

Elliot glanced at the photo album in his lap. "Olivia, just get to the office. Now." He hung up.

---------

"What's this all about?" Olivia asked as she walked into the office.

"Look at this, Liv," Fin said, pointing to Elliot's desk.

Olivia reached for the photo album first. She carefully opened it, inhaling sharply at the sight of her daughter and neighbor. She ran a finger over the pictures. "So? What are you trying to do? Make me-"

"Olivia. Look at the other stuff," Elliot interrupted.

Olivia looked at the desk, reading the titles of the books and papers. Her mouth was opened slightly. "This is insane. Why would she have all this? And what does it mean?"

"That your neighbor is not the sweet thing you think she is," Fin said.

"Let's go through these papers and see what we can find," Elliot said, grabbing a stack and handing them to Olivia.

"God. Val... kidnapped my baby?" Olivia said. "I don't believe it."


	6. Lies

**Sorry so short, but it's what you've been waiting for. Besides, I was supposed to be offline about half an hour ago. Shhh!  
**

** Disclaimer: The usual. Mary and Valerie are mine! **

--------------------

_  
_

_This is it..._ Olivia thought._ Mary's in this building somewhere._

As if reading her thoughts, Elliot reached for Olivia's hand and squeezed it.

---------

"_Damn it," Olivia said. "We're never going to find them."_

"_Liv, when did you get to be such a negative person?" Fin asked, smiling._

"_Sing my daughter mysteriously disappeared. And why are you smiling?"_

"_Because I just found something that might help."_

_Elliot jumped up. "What? What is it?"_

_Fin held up a piece of paper. "This is the address to Val's ex-husband's apartment."_

"_But Val's ex-husband died about three years ago," Olivia said._

"_Exactly. He wrote in his will that Val gets the apartment. He wrote that it's been paid off, and she can do whatever she wants with it."_

"_Like hide out in it..." Olivia said, taking the paper from Fin. "Come on, El. We're going to get Mary."_

---------

"Apartment B. This is it," Elliot said.

Olivia felt her heart pounding. "Elliot, when all this is over. You and I need to have a talk."

Elliot nodded. "I know... Want to knock on the door?"

Olivia shook her head. "I can't. I'm too nervous."

Elliot quickly kissed her forehead. "I'll do it." He knocked on the door.

A few minutes passed before Elliot and Olivia heard the locks unlocking. The door opened slightly. "Olivia?" A very scared-looking Valerie emerged from the room.

"Val? My God." Olivia looked at Valerie. Her eye was blackened slightly, and she had cuts all over her arm. "What happened to you?"

"He... he took us a few hours after you were gone. He beat us. And he left us here." Valerie was crying.

"Val, where's Mary?" Olivia was so focused on finding her daughter that she had forgotten about Valerie's potential.

"I don't know... he took her."

Elliot cut in. "Who is 'he'?"

"I don't know. He was wearing a-"

"There was no 'he', was there?"

Olivia cut Elliot off. "El-"

"Shut up, Liv."

Olivia stared at him, mouth open wide. "Don't you dare speak to me like-"

"Valerie, where is our daughter?"

"I told you, I don't-" Valerie was cut off by Elliot throwing the door open all the way. He stepped into the apartment and began searching.

"Elliot!" Olivia yelled. "Elliot, what are you-" She froze. A distant sound filled her ears. "Is that-?" Her eyes widened. "Oh my God."

Olivia and Elliot followed the sound. They ended up in front of a small, dark room. Elliot found the light switch and flipped it on.

"Oh my, God, Mary!" Olivia exclaimed, reaching for her daughter.

"Take one step near that baby, and all three of you die."

Olivia turned to face the door, finding Valerie standing there, a gun pointed at Olivia's head.


	7. Explanation

**For some reason, while I wrote this chapter, I kept thinking of the hangers department of my work. It drove me insane. Then I began picturing the cutting boards area. Then I began relating Valerie to one of my bosses, which scares me. I'm going to feel awkward at work on Saturday. But I wrote this chapter for you guys. This isn't the last- there will be either one or two chapters left. Then I'm going to begin my other story, which will hopefully do better than this one, review-wise.**

**I'm watching SVU as I type this, and Elliot just answered the phone. And when he did, he definetely said "Steh-bler." Whaaa?**

**Disclaimer: Valerie and Mary (and Mitchell, Jessica, and Henry, even though they all have a tiny role) are mine. The rest... well, we won't get into that.**

** DOINK DOINK. Sorry, I just had to do that.  
**

**------------- **

"Val, come on. She's our child," Olivia said calmly.

"No. You gave me responsibility. She's mine," Valerie replied. "And if you try to take her away, I swear to God I will shoot all three of you."

Olivia tried a different approach. "And how will that help you? You'll be left with nothing. Nothing but guilt that you killed your child and the people who gave you your child."

Valerie was silent. "Then the two of you will die. Unless you get the hell out of here and leave us alone."

Olivia glanced at Elliot. He nodded. Slowly they made their way to the door of the room. As they passed Valerie, Elliot jabbed her in the stomach with his elbow. Olivia took the opportunity to grab Valerie's gun, while Elliot grabbed her arms.

"Valerie, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent..." Elliot took Valerie out of the room.

"Come here, sweetie." Mary was crying. Olivia lifted her from the crib in which she was laying and held her close to her chest. "Shh, shh. It's okay baby. Mommy's here." Olivia held the baby up in front of her. "Mommy's here and she's going to make sure nothing else ever happens to you."

Mary stopped crying for a moment and stared at her mother. Olivia felt her heart melt.

---------

"Where's Val?" Olivia asked John when she walked into the precinct.

"She's in the interrogation room," he replied. "Elliot's waiting for you."

Olivia made her way to the interrogation room. She looked at Elliot, then looked through the glass. Valerie was sitting in the chair, staring at her hands in her lap. She looked truly ashamed.

Olivia jumped when she felt Elliot's hand on her back. "We did it," he whispered.

She nodded, feeling her eyes well up. "We did it," she repeated.

"Where's Mary?"

"Cragen offered to take her while we did this. She's with him in his office, probably asleep. She was really tired on the way over here."

Elliot nodded. "Ready?"

Olivia sighed. "No. But let's go anyway."

The door opened. Valerie looked up. She stood when Elliot entered the room, followed by Olivia.

"Sit," Olivia said. Elliot walked to and stood in the corner. He would let Olivia take care of Valerie.

Valerie sat. "Listen, Liv-"

"No. I won't listen. I trusted you, Valerie. I trusted you with my baby. I trusted you to protect her. I _Goddamned trusted you!_ And you ruined that." Olivia paused, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you know how worried I was? How worried _we_ were? I know you're not a parent yourself, so you could never understand what we went through. But you should know- as an adult- how worried we were." Another pause. Olivia noticed Valerie's eyes tearing up.

"Olivia, I-"

"I'm still not finished."

"Okay." Valerie went back to looking at her hands in her lap.

"Valerie, you were my neighbor. You were one of my closest friends. You know how hard it is to trust anyone after you lose trust of one of your closest friends? I walked in here with my daughter, and I was almost reluctant to let my boss look after her. I have known you longer then I've known Donald, and I trust him more than I trust you. And Elliot over there- the father of my child- I don't know if I can trust him the way I used to. And you know why? Because of you."

Silence filled the room. Olivia glanced at Elliot. He turned away. Suddenly Olivia felt bad. _I'm sorry, Elliot, _she said silently, hoping that somehow he would be able to catch her words.

To Olivia's surprise, Elliot turned back to face Olivia and nodded. _It's okay,_ he mouthed to her, causing her eyes to widen. She smiled, then turned back to Valerie.

"Okay. _Now_ you can talk," she said.

Valerie took a moment to wipe her eyes and sniff deeply. "Okay, Olivia. Let me just begin by saying how sorry I am. To you and Elliot." She sighed. "Here's the deal. Six years ago I got married to Mitchell Cramer. He was amazing. God, I wish that things had worked out. Those nights together were-" Valerie cleared her throat. "About six months into the marriage, Mitch and I decided that we wanted to start a family. So we tried. And we tried. And we tried some more."

Olivia sat down across from Valerie. "And you couldn't conceive?"

Valerie shook her head. "No. So we went to the doctor. He said that nothing was wrong. He said that these things take time. So we tried some more. And still, nothing. So we went to a different doctor. He ran some tests, and we discovered that I was infertile." Valerie's tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. "That was so hard for me to hear. I wanted nothing more then to have a little baby."

"Is that why Mitch left you?"

Valerie looked at Olivia. "At first we considered adopting, but we both decided that we wanted our own child. Even if it meant-"

"Mitch trying to get another woman pregnant for the two of you?"

Valerie nodded. "This happened about a year into our marriage. Jessica- that was her name- said she'd be willing to do it. We agreed. I was thrilled. I knew it wouldn't be _my_ child 100 percent, but I knew that I could raise it for people to think that it was my child."

"So what happened?"

Valerie sighed. "So Jessica got pregnant the fourth time. Nine months later, little Henry was born."

Olivia raised her eyebrows. She'd never heard of a Henry. "Henry, Valerie?"

"Jessica- she took one look at her baby and decided to keep her. I broke down. I nearly passed out in the hospital. It was too much for me to handle. I wanted that baby badly."

"Right..."

"Mitch was there for me the entire time. A few days after I finally became nearly whole again, about three months later, he came home late one night. He came into the bedroom and woke me up. He looked at me and told me that he wanted a divorce."

Olivia's jaw dropped. "_Why?_"

"He said that seeing Henry made him realize that he loved Jessica. He said that-" Valerie's voice broke. "-that he couldn't live without his child. Or the love of his life. I fell apart again. I didn't know what to do?"

"So what did you do?"

"Nothing. I divorced him. Got my life back together. He moved out of the apartment. I dated a few times. That was that."

Olivia was silent. She didn't know what to say, now that she knew the story. She didn't know how to feel.

It was Elliot who asked the unnecessary question. "So why did you take Mary?"

Valerie wiped a tear away. She looked at the table, then her eyes darted to meet Elliot's. "I was jealous," she simply said.

"You said that you got your life back together."

"Being with Mary reminded me of how much I wanted a baby."

Olivia couldn't stand it any longer. She jumped out of the chair and ran out of the room. She pounded her fist against the wall and cried, resting her head against her arm on the wall.

"Olivia?" The door opened and Elliot walked out.

"Go away, El," she responded.

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"I care about you too much." He snaked his hands around her waist.

"Valerie wanted a child. And she had one. And I reminded her of all the pain she went through."

"Olivia, she kidnapped your daughter. She should have been able to control her feelings."

"I don't know what to do, Elliot. I don't want to deal with her. I just want to go home with my baby."

"Go, Liv. I'll take care of Valerie. And I'll stop by to check up on you. We can talk then."

Olivia nodded. She pulled away from the wall and began to walk toward the door.

"Olivia!"

Olivia turned around. Elliot saw from her red, pained eyes how hurt she was. "Yes?"

Elliot took three steps toward her. "I love you."

Olivia smiled a half smile and left.


	8. Apologies

**Okay. This is the last chapter. I think. It's not all that great, quite honestly. I think I just got to the point where I wanted the story to end because I got bored with it.**

**I wrote the first chapter of my new story (no relation to this one). I'm thinking I may re-write it and make it first person POV instead of third person.**

**Anyway, thanks, as always, to my lovely loyal reviewers who stuck by me even when the writing died. I know I tend to do that.**

**With that, I'm off.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. But I am part of a group that is attempting to come up with a plan to capture them. **

Elliot knew that Olivia would want some time alone with Mary. Even so, he couldn't stay away. Mary was his daughter, too.

He walked to Olivia's apartment and pressed the intercom button. "Olivia?"

No answer.

"Olivia, I know you're there. Come on. I, uh, want to talk to you."

Still no answer.

"Come on, Liv."

The door to the apartment building suddenly opened. Elliot jumped back, startled. Olivia walked out with Mary in a carrier. She stopped when she saw Elliot.

"I thought you'd never come," she said quietly.

"I thought you'd never answer me," he replied.

"You didn't try the intercom, did you? That thing's broken." Olivia became amused when she noticed Elliot's face slowly reddening. "You should've used your key. That's what I thought you'd do."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to just show up after-" he looked at his hands. "After today."

"Where's Val?" Olivia asked, Elliot's words reminding her.

"They took her away. We won't be seeing her around for a while. God, as she was leaving, she looked right at me. And at that moment, through her eyes, I could see everything she'd gone through. I didn't know whether to hate her or feel sorry for her."

"Elliot." Olivia placed her free hand on Elliot's cheek. "Come on. Let's go up." Elliot followed Olivia into her apartment. "Listen, El. What I said to Val today- about how I knew I'd have a hard time trusting you- I only said that to make her realize that what she did was awful."

"I know."

"And I'm sorry if I hit a nerve. I didn't mean-"

"Liv, it's okay. I deserved it after the way I treated you once we found Val."

"No. _I_ deserved _that_. I was a jerk about everything. I was just so angry with myself. I was afraid. I didn't want to be like her."

"Who? Val?"

"My mother. As the days passed, I realized how much closer I was to being her. I started out a single mother, I managed to let her get kidnapped, I wasn't working hard enough to find her. I just became scared."

"Olivia." Elliot pulled Olivia into his embrace. "You're not like her. You did everything you could to find her. You love Mary. Just like I do." Elliot pulled away from Olivia, still holding her. "Look at me, Liv."

Olivia's eyes met Elliot's.

"I made mistakes in the past. I left you alone at first. I was an asshole to you. I was going to let you raise our child by yourself. But I came to realize how important you are to me. And how special our baby is." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I want to be there for both of you."

He paused. Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but Elliot placed a finger over her lips.

"You know, Liv. You were there for me when Kathy asked for a divorce. I know that it was fairly recent, and that I may be rushing into things, but I want to be a part of your's and Mary's life. A big part. Do you think-" he cleared his throat. "Do you think maybe we could take our relationship to the next level?"

Olivia smiled. "Of course. I don't know what Cragen'll do to us work-wise, but he'll have plenty of time to decide. I'm going to take awhile off to get things together. Maybe find a new sitter for Mary. We'll see."

"Sounds good." Elliot leaned forward and kissed Olivia. She opened her mouth, deepening the kiss, allowing Elliot to slip his tongue inside.

Olivia was the first to pull away. "Elliot, I'm so happy that we're close again. I hate how the stupid lie I told kind of made things awkward, and I hate the circumstances of the way we grew closer, but I'm glad about the way things managed to work out."

"That makes two of us." Elliot leaned forward.

"Dadadadadadada," Mary cooed.

Olivia's eyes widened slightly. "Is it a sign?"

"Maybe." Elliot walked over to his daughter. "Marymarymarymary," he cooed back, tickling Mary.

Mary giggled.

Olivia looked at Elliot and Mary. She suddenly found herself thinking that she and Elliot would someday get married, and that she could give Mary a true family. But, for right now, she was content with being able to have the two people she loved most.


End file.
